Island’s feral cats get home at rehab center

Almost 60 feral cats airlifted from San Nicolas Island are settling into their new home in Ramona at the Fund for Animals Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Delilah and Sybil recently got into a tussle.

John Gastaldo

Almost 60 feral cats airlifted from San Nicolas Island are settling into their new home in Ramona at the Fund for Animals Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Delilah and Sybil recently got into a tussle.

Almost 60 feral cats airlifted from San Nicolas Island are settling into their new home in Ramona at the Fund for Animals Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Delilah and Sybil recently got into a tussle. (John Gastaldo)

Patty McCormac

They were going to be euthanized, but the feral island cats are now lolling about a new 4,000-square-foot habitat in Ramona.

“They are pretty lucky cats,” said Betsy McFarland, senior director for companion animals for the Humane Society of the United States.

The cats had roamed on San Nicolas Island, one of the Channel Islands, about 60 miles off the Ventura County coast. It has served as a naval missile telemetry site since the mid-1950s.

The felines came over with military families as pets or mousers more than 40 years ago and began multiplying and preying upon birds and competing with native animals, McFarland said.

Naval and wildlife officials had wanted to eliminate them to improve nesting for seabirds and to benefit other native species, including the Channel Island fox and federally threatened island night lizard.

But a joint effort by the Navy, Humane Society, U.S Fish and Wildlife and the California Department of Fish and Game saved the cats. Sixty-three were captured and sent to Ramona live at the Fund for Animals Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, an arm of the humane society.

Beginning in the summer, the cats were taken by airplane to the center about 15 at a time, said Kim D’Amico, the feral cat coordinator. Then they were placed under quarantine, given their shots and spayed or neutered.

The fenced habitat enclosure cost $60,000, and charter plane fares, food and staff to care for the cats added to the expense. DoGreatGood.com, which raises funds for a variety of charities, donated $100,000.

“They can lounge in trees, bask in the sun, climb into their cubby, get two square meals a day and face no danger from predators,” McFarland said.

Trapping continues on the island, but the number of cats remaining there is dwindling, said Dr. Shayda Ahkami, a veterinarian who works with the animals at the center. It’s uncertain how many are left on the island. The center received three cats a couple of weeks ago.

The San Nicolas cats are, for the most part, healthy in comparison to mainland feral cats and don’t have the communicable diseases commonly spread among their species, Ahkami said.

Once the cats were placed in their new home, the keepers noticed something unusual. The cats began renewing their relationships with the recent arrivals.

“It was like they recognized each other as a friend or family. They started snuggling, grooming each other and rubbing faces with each other,” Ahkami said.

“It made us all cry,” D’Amico added.

Most of the adults are not adoptable. They had never seen humans before and will not approach their keepers, D’Amico said. However, a few have relaxed and will walk up to people. Kittens are different; three have been adopted, and others are available, D’Amico said.

Those interested in adopting a kitten can call the center at (760) 789-2324.